Oklahoma passed some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country during the last legislative session, from mandatory ultrasounds to invasive and intensely personal pre-abortion reporting questionnaires.

But 2010 anti-choice legislation could be considered tame in comparison to what social conservatives have in mind for 2011.  And they are fighting the “economy” Republicans over the chance to enact their agenda first.

Via News Channel 4:

Dozens of ultra-conservatives plan to gather in Bartlesville Monday night to protest the Legislature’s plan to focus more on the economy than on social issues.

The more conservative Republicans, including tea party members, want lawmakers to focus on abortion restrictions, immigration and fewer regulations on firearms. Republican leaders who will direct the agenda want to concentrate first on improving Oklahoma‘s struggling economy.

The social conservatives and Tea Party activists in the state feel they have worked hard to turn all three wings of the legislature — House, Senate and Governor — to the right, and they are ready to demand their pound of flesh as a reward.  But many are worried that the House leader may not be conservative enough for their standards.

From EnidNews.com:

Members of the House GOP meet Monday and Tuesday in Bartlesville, and Kris Steele, who will be formally elected as House Speaker next month, believes the Legislature next year should concentrate on economic development and plugging holes in the state budget.

More-conservative Republicans want legislators to tighten access to abortion, relax regulations on firearms and attempt to restrict immigration.

“There’s going to be some fireworks within the caucus,” said state Rep. Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, who acknowledged some of his GOP colleagues have privately questioned whether Steele is too liberal to lead the House. “I think we’ll know after Tuesday.”

For the first time in state history, Republicans in Oklahoma will control the House, Senate and the governor’s mansion after Oklahoma voters in November ushered in huge gains for the GOP, including all eight Democrat-held statewide seats on the ballot.

Steele, a soft-spoken minister from Shawnee, said House Republicans are still united — but cracks are obvious among the 70-member-strong Republican majority as they hammer out their agenda for the legislative session that begins in February.

This week’s meetings haven’t gone unnoticed by Oklahomans wanting action on social issues. Some right-wing groups plan to travel to Bartlesville, too.

“We’re not going up there to picket or protest,” said Dan Fisher, an Edmond pastor who signed up several participants Friday over lunch at the H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City. “We’re just going up there to remind them that: ’We’re the ones that put you into office, and we’re not going away. Take a stand on these social issues. They matter to us.’”

Charlie Meadows, whose Oklahoma Conservative PAC has been a longtime fixture of the state GOP’s right wing, sent a mass e-mail to supporters on Friday urging them to join the caravan if they care about issues like “the rising homosexual agenda, the growing threats from radical Muslims and Sharia Law, the ever expanding big brother privacy invasion laws” as well as illegal immigration and states’ rights.

It’s difficult to discern what more there is that can be done in the state to limit abortion rights. Each bill that was passed in legislature and vetoed by Governor Brad Henry was eventually overridden again by the legislature.  Although the mandatory ultrasound bill is held up in appeal, it will be revisited again at the new year by the courts, not the law makers.  The state banned abortion coverage not just in public insurance, but in any insurance plan in Oklahoma, including those paid by private insurers.

More restrictions?  The idea is frankly terrifying.